


Hate is a Strong Word

by tendereverie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Breaking Up & Making Up, Car Sex, Childhood Friends, Coming of Age, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Elementary School, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Graduate School, Growing Up Together, High School, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Making Up, Middle School, Minor Injuries, Pining, Please Don't Hate Me, Pre-Relationship, Regrets, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Unrequited Love, Volleyball, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28037193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tendereverie/pseuds/tendereverie
Summary: How did you come to this? Kuroo and you? There was a history there. Maybe too much history. Some people need to take a break before they can actually see things clearer.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 105





	Hate is a Strong Word

You laid in the darkness, alone, and yet he was there as well, panting just like you. Many thoughts were running through your mind as you came to understand what happened in the past few hours. You tried to make sense of your feelings, you tried to make sense of the situation. The more you tried to solve this puzzle, the more it didn’t make sense, why would you give yourself to him? How did this come to this? You came up with only one answer.

**It was a mistake.**

Slowly, you sat up and turned to your side of the bed, shivering when the cold air touched your heated skin. You winced a bit when you stood up, cursing that you made any sign of discomfort. Because his attention was immediately on you, you could feel his eyes following you as you got up and started to collect your clothes and got dressed.

“Where are you going?” his voice finally broke the dead silence, the tension between you was suffocating, you could barely breathe as panic washed over you. 

“This was a mistake,” you finally managed to say, “I am leaving, forget this ever happened,” you added, trying to keep your voice together, trying to not fall apart. This was all wrong.

“What do you mean? [name]! We both know this is a lie.” he growled, his anger rising. He grabbed your hand and pulled you back into his arms. “How many times do you expect me to apologize over something that happened so long ago? How long do you plan to keep up this game?” he whispered against your hair, “How many times do you expect me to apologize and say that I love you!”

“This was never a game for me Kuroo, I never played with your feelings. I was always honest about how I felt. I hate you. I always hated you. You were the one who kept on giving mixed signals. You are the one who kept on screwing things up.” you could tell he wanted to keep hold of you, but he suddenly let you go.

“If that’s what you want to feel, then go, I have pride as well. I apologized enough,” he muttered and you could feel the sadness pooling from his voice. It made you want to turn, to look at him, to see that broken expression he must be wearing. For a change, you won. 

So why did it feel like you lost?

You put on the last of your clothes. His eyes never left your body, as if he was trying to commit everything to memory. Why did he insist on torturing himself? You didn’t care enough to find the answer. You were too busy trying to keep yourself together. 

You held your breath as you made your way to the front door, you didn’t even try to look around, afraid you might learn something that will change what you **knew** about him. You were just about to open the door when his hand caught yours. You didn’t turn to look at him. There was silence and in that silence, his muted plea felt like a scream.

**Don’t leave, this isn’t a mistake.**

You tugged your hand away and quickly escaped through the door, allowing your legs to carry you towards your house, you lived right across the fucking street. You could hear it, a loud bang against the door. He was angry. You never saw him this upset, but you could almost feel him through the door and across the street. 

You looked up at the surprisingly clear and beautiful starry sky, silently wondering, how did you get to this point?

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

 _‘Just say nice to meet you, that’s all,’_ you repeated in your head as you followed your need teacher to the classroom. You were seven years old back then, you moved to Tokyo when your father got a better job proposal. It was the middle of the school year, but at least it was right after the summer vacation, so technically, it was a bit of a new beginning for everyone.

 _‘Just say nice to meet you,”_ you repeated in your head. You hated meeting new people, you hated being someone everyone stared at. You had trouble getting along with the boys and while you got along with the girls just fine, there were always at least a few who ended up making it difficult.

You tugged a little on your uniform shirt, fiddling with the material and letting it go when you remembered your mother’s scolding.

 _“Stop playing with it, you will make it look wrinkled!” she would always gently slap your hands away, usually, after you already wrinkled the fabric_.

You looked at your shirt, it was fine, you didn’t wrinkle it. You quickly grabbed your arm, trying to keep your hands busy with something else.

 _‘Just say nice to meet you,”_ you reminded yourself like a mantra, in the hope that you will not mess these few words. The teacher stopped and you did a well.

“Don’t worry [[l.name](http://l.name/)], they are nice children, they will treat you nicely,” she assured you, stroking your hair a little. When she turned her attention to the door, you quickly made sure everything was in place, including your hair. You loved it, but it always took a bit of extra effort to get it to look the way you wanted.

You felt your heartbeat rise as you followed your teacher into the room, blood rushing to your cheeks when all eyes were on you.

_‘Just say nice to meet you,'_

You repeated in your mind, barely hearing your teacher exchange a few words and then introduce you.

“This is [[l.name](http://l.name/)] [name], she moved here from Miyagi, please welcome her and make her feel home,” she said brightly.

There was a chorused and a well-reversed reply from the class, you waited.

“N-nice to meet you,” you let out a breath, it was just one stutter, nothing to give them a reason to pick on you. You were blushing, though, and when you looked around the class for the first time, there was a wave of excited whispers and you met with smiling faces.

You felt yourself breathing easier. This wasn’t as hard as you thought it would be.

“Now, for where you will sit, there is an empty seat in front of Kuroo-Kun.” the teacher waved to a boy to raise his hand. You looked for the said boy, and you froze for a moment, bored expression, narrow eyes and that hair. Maybe this was your very first mistake, you thought he was trouble. 

You smiled politely and sat down, and quickly took out your things, organizing them neatly on the table. You could feel his eyes on your back the whole time and you did your best to ignore it. You did a good job until the second period. You could feel something hitting your back over and over again, occasionally a random tug on your hair until you finally had enough.

“Stop it!” you turned around and hissed at him, but all you got was a grin.

“[[l.name](http://l.name/)], Kuroo, pay attention in class!” the teacher’s voice broke through the silence, and you quickly turned your attention back to the lesson. He got you in trouble on the first day! For the rest of the lesson, you couldn’t concentrate and it was a math lesson too! 

You decided you will never give him your attention again, he was a bad boy and he will get you in trouble.

You learned soon enough he was trouble, **especially** specifically to you.

You spent your break in the company of a couple of girls who introduced themselves to you the moment the break started. You felt lucky enough that they weren’t the pushy kind. You were timidly answering their questions and getting to know them.

“Why did you turn to Kuroo-Kun like that earlier?” Kaori, who sat a few seats in front of you, asked.

“He was staring at me all the time and when I ignored him he kept throwing something at my back and pulling on my hair,” you complained, stabbing your vegetables with your chopsticks, you moved aside a few things you didn’t like with a small frown.

“Kuroo-Kun? He never does anything, kind of keeps to himself. He is new here as well, he came at the beginning of the year.” Kaori stated, it sounded as if this Kuroo wasn’t someone bad.

“Doesn’t mean he should bother me,” you puffed your cheeks stubbornly.

“Maybe he likes you,” Mei teased and you looked at her horrified, “I mean, he never really approached any girl in any way, he barely speaks with anyone,” she added.

“Or maybe he decided there is finally someone weaker than him and he could bully me.” you didn’t like this Kuroo boy and decided that no matter what, you will continue to ignore him. He will not win your attention.

“I don’t know, I don’t know him much, but he never seemed like someone bad,” Mei closed her lunch box.

“Have you ever looked at him? No one good can look the way he does.” you were blushing a bit because she was right, you might be judging him, but he got you in trouble on your first day.

“He does look funny, isn’t he?” Kaori chuckled and all of you joined in. All three of you quickly stopped and glanced at Kuroo when he walked in and took his seat, just in time for the class to start.

Maybe you were wrong, but you were a child back then, you didn’t know better and you were upset for getting scolded.

Your decision was final, as final a child’s decision could be anyway, you didn’t pay attention to Kuroo for the next couple of months. An achievement you were pretty proud of as well. It wasn’t easy because as much as you tried to ignore him, the more creative he became in gaining your attention. 

It started with trying to get your attention during the lessons. More than once, he threw pieces of balled papers or erasers on you. When you ignored him, he made sounds that annoyed you. When you realized he will once more get you in trouble, you threw a note to him, asking him to stop. He returned it with a reply, but you didn't care and ignored it.

You could feel his eyes on you at all times, sometimes even when he wasn't in sight, as if he was always watching.

It almost felt like some kind of a competition, who will hold out longer? Will he manage to get you to respond to something or if you will keep on ignoring him as you wanted. In reality, you probably lost from the very beginning. Because the whole thing started when you noticed Kuroo, you just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction it worked.

So you took it on another level. Studies. If he insisted on disturbing you during the class instead of listening, you would force him to leave you be by having the teachers’ attention all the time. Since Kuroo only tried to get you to react to something when they weren’t looking.

Soon, it became a completely different competition, who was getting better grades and more correct answers. If you answered a difficult question, Kuroo would answer an even more complicated question. If you volunteered to go to the board, Kuroo would be the next one and vis versa. Somehow, this got the whole class to compete and soon, your class was the top class in your grade. Yours and Kuroo’s names were always on the board side by side, which you found annoying because now some of the other children were teasing you for being a couple.

“Kuroo and I?” “[name] and I?”

“There is no chance he is annoying!” “There is no chance she is annoying!”

It extended even into P.E. classes, although the boys and girls were always in different groups, you still competed over who was the top athlete. 

This lasted throughout the whole year. At this point, you wondered if Kuroo Tetsurou was really such a bad guy? If he was all bad, he wouldn’t be trying to keep up with studies, right? You still didn’t talk to each other. He also made some friends who he kept hanging with during the breaks, which meant you were left alone. However, you suddenly found yourself looking for him to see what he was doing.

“Oh? [name]-chan, you like Kuroo?” one of the girls asked when you sat outside and watched the boys play soccer. He was really good in all sports. He was starting to get more popular as well. 

“Of course not! I was just watching the game. The whole point is following the ball, you know!” you blushed and almost spat out your juice.

“Yea, but you are watching Kuroo-Kun more closely~” Mei teased you as you cleaned some of the juice that dripped from your mouth.

“Well, of course, he is the one with the ball most of the time!” you replied. To this, they couldn’t really disagree. But it made you wonder, were you really watching Kuroo for that long?

∘☆∘

The year ended before you even noticed it and it was only during the break that you realized that Kuroo was your neighbor. When your mother offered to invite him and another boy Kenma Kozume to play or if you wanted to go out with them, you refused, saying there was no way you will play with boys.

Truth was, you did want to play, but you were always shyer around boys. It didn’t change during the last few months and it didn’t matter it was Kuroo you were talking about. The boy you were in competition with for the past half a year.

The most you ever spoke to each other was through glances and you snapping at him for being annoying. 

“Stop it, we are going to get in trouble!”

Were those really the only words you ever said to him? Was he really always quiet around you?

It was right before the beginning of the new school year that your life ended! At least that’s what your eight-year-old self believed.

Although others often called you ‘pretty’ and ‘cute’ you were always self-conscious about your appearance, especially your hair. It was a bit unruly, but after you convinced your mother to let you lengthen it, so became more comfortable to get it to lay down straight. You always spent a lot of time in front of the mirror in hopes to have another good hair day.

Your little brother – who often went out to play with Kuroo and Kenma – decided to ruin your life! You were watching your favorite show and ignored him after he came back home from hanging out with Kuroo and Kenma. He kept going on and on about them as if they were gods or something and complained that you never played with him like they did. 

You kept pointing out that you didn’t like the video games he always wanted to play and insisted there were other things to do. To which he got angry and left you to watch the show. You ended up falling asleep in the living room, unaware that he decided to get back at you for ignoring him. The whole neighborhood could hear you screaming at him an hour later when your mother woke you up and asked what was in your hair.

Whatever it was, she never managed to get it out and she needed to cut it out of your hair. You were crying when she took you to get a new hair cut and fix the damage. Your long beautiful hair was gone! Now it barely reached your shoulders. Although the hairdresser did a good job and make it look pretty, the problem was, he was a professional and you were not. Your hair was once more unruly and wild and this is how you were condemned to start the new school year.

Needless to say, you stopped talking to your little brother altogether, because you were that much of a bad big sister. A fact he made sure to tell anyone who would listen when he started the first grade in the same school.

“[name]! What happened to your hair?” Kaori was the first to notice you when you walked into the new classroom. You tensed and quickly looked around you, getting a few glances and you felt as if you could burst to tears on the spot.

“Stupid, don’t yell like that!” Mei scolded her and quickly hugged you. Mei was always the more mature one between the three of you.

“My stupid brother!” You whined as the two of you went to sit next to one of the windows.

“Aww… don’t worry [name]-chan, your hair still looks nice.” Kaori tried to comfort you, running her fingers through your hair, which now only halfway down your neck.

“It’s still pretty and think of it that way, you don’t have to fight to keep it up in a ponytail! You always complained about it during P.E.” Mei tried to cheer you up as well.

“Yea and there are so many things you can do with it and ways to style it!” Kaori joined in.

“But, it always becomes unruly, I can’t even deal with that now!” you rested your head on your desk and buried your face in your arms.

“Nonsense! I will show you how to style it. There are so many ways to do that!” Kaori crossed her arms over her chest, stubbornly.

You and Mei gaped at her.

“What?” she asked worriedly.

“Where did you learn that word?” you both asked in unison.

“What do you mean?” Kaori protested, blushing a little.

“I mean, no offense, but you never use big words.” Mei giggled and Kaori blushed even darker.

“It’s not because I don’t know any! For your information, I know a lot of big words! I just don’t use them when I talk to the simple people.” she nodded her head as if she just said the smartest thing ever, while you and Mei kept on laughing the longer she spoke.

The three of you kept chatting happily and laughing, catching up with what you did during the school break and what clubs you will join this year. The fourth grade had more sports clubs open to them to choose from and you decided you wanted to join volleyball, which was your favorite ever since you got to try it out last year.

“Seriously [name]-chan, you shouldn’t worry about your hair, it will grow to be as long and as beautiful as it was, and you were always one of the prettiest in our class. I am sure even Kuroo would agree.” Mei hugged you and tugged her brows suggestively.

“Are you kidding me? Why are you laying, she was never **that** pretty and now she is just ugly.” you didn’t need to turn to see who it was. Your body was tense. You fought not to cry when you heard some of the other children in the class laugh loudly. You wanted to leave, but the bell rang and the teacher walked in. You heard something drop behind you and a chair move, and you knew Kuroo sat right behind you. You kept your head low to hide the tears that ere threatening to fall.

 _‘I will not cry, I will not cry!’_ you kept repeating in your head over and over, this reminded you the first-day last year. Only now, you were chanting something else in your mind. You could feel several sets of eyes on you.

You knew he was looking at your as well, drilling holes in the back of your skull, he always had the most intense gaze of them all. You wanted him to stop, you wanted him to stop looking at you, you never thought you would say it about anyone, you hated Kuroo Tetsurou!

He made it impossible to ignore him. You felt the familiar feeling as small balls of paper hit your back, only now you didn’t have your long hair to protect your neck. But you were determined never to look his way again. Kuroo was gone in your mind. Now, if only he would make it possible to pretend he really is!

“Sensei!” you raised your hand after you felt it was too much.

“Yes, [name]?”

“May I go to the bathroom?” you asked, holding back the feelings that were about to burst.

“Yes.” you quickly got out of our seat and hurried out of the class. You almost run into the girls' bathroom. By the time you got there, the tears were already streaming down your cheeks. You weren’t sure how long you stayed there, you assumed it wasn’t as long as it felt since the bell didn’t ring yet. Finally feeling better, you washed your face, looking into the mirror and trying to cheer yourself up.

You liked your nose. You thought you had pretty eyes, your lips weren’t bad either, you shouldn’t even worry about these things! Your mother always said that.

 _‘Hair grows back and it isn’t that bad… it’s not like it turned green or worse, pink!’_ you kept this up for a moment longer, listing all the things you liked about yourself and all the cool things you could do.

 _‘So what if he thinks I am ugly, he obviously has no taste, his hair looks like a rooster head!’_ this had made you smile and you decided you felt better. Kuroo Tetsurou was just a stupid boy. You hated him, he might not be one of those usual bullies, but he was just as bad. He just had his own way to do bad things, no one could change your mind, Kuroo Tetsurou was a villain in your book. 

You never expected to see Kuroo standing outside the girls’ bathroom when you walked out.

Your eyes met, it was the first time in a very long time.

“Hey… list-”

“I hate you, Kuroo Tetsurou. I always just disliked you, but because you can’t seem to take the hint,” you stopped, fixing him with the coldest glare and eight-year-old can muster, “I will say it clearly once more. **I hate you**.” you repeated the words and walked away, holding your head high. 

You will never let him do this to you ever again.

You hated Kuroo Tetsurou and no one could change your mind.

Of course, he wouldn’t leave you be. He just loved to be around and make your life worse. 

You never thought that maybe the two of you just shared a common field of interest.

For you, seeing Kuroo in the tryouts for the boys’ volleyball team meant that he was following you.

You felt his eyes on you again, you felt him look at you all the time and you hated this so much, why couldn’t he stop staring?

_‘Don’t look at him, don’t look at him, don’t look at him stupid!’_

You looked at him when you felt his eyes were no longer on you. It was his turn to play with the older kids as the coach assessed his skill. 

_‘He is good,’_ you thought as you watched him, _‘I still hate him,’_

Your eyes met and he gave you a knowing look, grinning as if he is better than you, challenging you. You quickly looked away and your name was called. It was just a short game, three on three, up to five points because there were many children to go through.

When the coach called the names of the ones, who passed you smile brightly, eyes shining as you and a couple of other girls hugged and danced playfully. 

You felt his eyes again.

You heard his name called.

Just one more thing you could best him in, just one more thing you could show him you are better, just one more place you will have to endure his provocative gaze.

The first practice wasn’t as long as the normal ones. It was also done along with the boys’ team, it was mainly the coaches explaining the rules of the games, the different roles, while the older students proudly helped to demonstrate. Once the introductions were over, you were all split to pairs and worked on the simplest thing, hitting the ball towards the floor and make it bounce to the wall and back to you. It was simple and funny at the same time, because once in a while someone would get hit by the ball. After that, you worked on some passes and receives. By the end, your arms were tingling, but you were happy with the compliments you got.

You were almost skipping when you walked home, happily humming to yourself when you heard **his** voice calling **your** name. 

Your smile was gone.

Did he have to ruin your happy moment?

You kept going as if you didn’t hear him.

“[name], wait!” he caught your hand and pulled you to a stop.

“What? I thought I was cle-”

“You were really amazing today! I didn’t know you liked volleyball.” Kuroo interrupted you and you stared. Was this guy bulletproof? Did he really have trouble understanding? You weren’t friends and common interest wasn’t going to fix this. Not after what he said.

“Was I unclear earlier?” you asked coldly and snatched your hand from his grip.

“I am sorry,” he blurted out, “I didn’t mean it,” he added.

“Doesn’t it make it worse? Saying something mean to someone when you don’t mean it? And you made sure to say it in front of the whole class, loud and clear.” you shot back, did he just say whatever popped in his head just to hurt you? Protect his pride?

“I-”

“Save it. I don’t care, we are not friends. We never were, we were rivals at best. I don’t care if we both like volleyball.” you tried to hold back the tears once more, why did he even try? Where did he get the guts to come after you again?

“So we stay rivals than, I will make sure to beat you at everything,” he stated, his eyes met yours in challenge and determination.

“As if you can ever beat me!” to your horror, you accepted the challenge. You broke the eye contact and kept going back to your house. You could hear him trailing right behind you.

Annoyed at this stalking, you started running and he was right at your heels and suddenly, the two of you were running. Your tears were left forgotten. You both stopped when you reached the gates of your houses that were facing each other.

Neither you nor Kuroo looked at each other as you panted.

You turned right towards your house.

Kuroo turned left towards his house.

For the rest of your elementary school years, you and Kuroo were like two parallel lines. You were never meant to meet, but you did and every time it happened you always clashed.

No one could say if it were a good or a bad thing, but you brought out the best and worst out of each other. You graduated at the top of your class. 

You and Kuroo, top academic achievements.

Kuroo and You, captains of your teams that won two tournaments.

You still hated him.

No one could change your mind.

So why did your heart beat faster when he hugged you after your team won?

Why did you smile in the picture that your coach took of the two of you, holding the trophies and with medals around your neck? 

Why did you laugh when he ran his fingers through your – once more – long hair and told you some crude joke about your receives?

You remembered how you felt when he said in front of everyone you were ugly. You remember how you felt every time he got you into trouble. You remember how you felt every time he provoked you. 

Yes, you hated Kuroo Tetsurou.

No one could change your mind.

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

You took in a deep breath and let it out after a few moments. A long trail of white steam left your lips. It was colder than you thought. When you finally realized that, you felt how your body was shivering. You could also feel his eyes on you. Why does he have to keep torturing himself? Why does he have to keep torturing you?

You felt something wet hit your hand. You were crying. It felt as if you just ripped open your heart. Why did you feel this way? You spent so many years hating him, why did it hurt so much now? 

_‘It always hurt silly, you just finally let him in and then pushed him away.’_

The tears fell faster and you were sobbing, you didn’t want to go back to your house yet, although it was late and you should. Your mother was probably worried, but you were a mess, you made such a big mess out of your life.

You kept pushing and pushing and pushing and finally, you **broke**.

It felt as if you couldn’t stop crying, as if there wasn’t enough air, as if the world was closing in on you. 

You should walk in, you knew it, but you couldn’t move your body. 

You couldn’t move anything anymore.

It hurt, it hurt so much to breathe, your lungs hurt, your throat hurt, you fell to your knees and one of them was throbbing, your eyes hurt, it hurt to think, it hurt to feel. You covered your face and cried as if there was an endless resort of tears at your disposal. You cried as if you would never get to do that again.

You weren’t sure how long it lasted.

Only that you found yourself in bed and your mother sat by your side. 

“Oh, honey, what happened? Why didn’t you get home?” she pulled you into a hug when she saw you were awake.

“I-I… I am sorry, mom. I am so sorry, I screw up… I really did.” you cried into her shoulder as she stroked your hair, just the way she used to when you were little.

How did you screw up so badly?

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

Spring was the symbol of a new beginning. The winter of your last year in elementary school was harsh. It only seemed fair that the spring was even more beautiful than usual. The day you were on your way to your first day in junior high, you swore it was one of the best sakura blooms you had ever seen in the whole twelve years of your life. 

You were enjoying the gentle breeze as you took your time to walk to school. You left early, so you didn’t have to walk with your brother. The elementary and junior high were close to each other and you didn’t want your good mood ruined by his annoying babbling. It gave you more than enough time to enjoy the road in peace and wonder how the first day would look like.

Who is going to be your teacher?

Who is going to be in your class?

Would there be some cute guys in your class?

You closed your eyes and a face flashed in your mind and you frowned.

Kuroo is far from cute and you didn’t like him.

You can cross him off your list.

“Hey, [name].” 

You pretended that you didn’t hear him calling your name. The peace you felt was gone. Ruined by that annoying voice. 

“Rude as always, aren’t you?” he fell in step with you, walking beside you.

“And you always appear where you are not wanted,” you huffed, sparing him a single glance and you regretted it. He looked good in the new uniform and it felt as if he practically shot up during the break.

“I know what you think. I am too hot to ignore now, what are you going to do now? Confess your endless love to me?” he leaned towards you. You skipped out of the way, and Kuroo stumbled a little.

“You wish,” you kept your gaze on your way, “don’t you have Kenma to annoy or something?” you asked, determined to enjoy your walk anyway.

“He is a year younger than me,” Kuroo settled into walking by your side again.

“Your hair looks pretty by the way, did you do something new?” he asked, while side glancing towards you.

“Probably because I spent time away from the air you breathe, I always thought you were toxic.” you smiled a little when he pretended to be hurt.

“Ouch, and here I thought you missed me as much as I missed you.” he grinned.

“I still don’t like you Kuroo,” you shot him a cold look, but it wasn’t as harsh as you used to.

“You sound like a broken record, [name].” he let out a sigh.

“And you sound squeaky, what happened to your voice? Even my baby brother sounds more mature than you and he is a month old.”

“Shut up! My voice keeps changing,” he yelled, but his voice broke in the end, you could see a small blush on his cheeks. 

“Oh god, you sound ridiculous!” you began laughing, feeling tears coming to your eyes, for a change you weren’t crying because he hurt you.

_‘I win.’_

“I hate you sometimes,” he frowned but smiled.

“See, the feeling is mutual. Finally, you got it into your head. Now, if only you could leave me be.” you closed your eyes and breathed in the air. Sweet with the scent of flowers.

“Congrats on your new brother heard him all the way to my house.” he suddenly broke the silence.

“Don’t remind me! I never thought I would want to go back to school so much,” you whined.

“You could always come to hang at my place.” it was so sudden that you tripped, but Kuroo was quick enough to catch your arm.

“Watch it, how do you even make these moves when you play volleyball but a complete klutz otherwise?” he asked firmly.

“Let me go!” you tugged your arm away, blushing.

“You are so persistent! Can’t you just let it go already?” he snapped, running a hand through his messy hair.

Did he even try to comb it?

“You never gave me a good enough reason to change my mind! So stop acting as if we are friends. We are not!” you snapped back at him.

“Pff, ok, I bet I am in a better classroom.” he scowled.

“You idiot, we finished with the same grades last year, I am afraid we might be in the same one.” there, you said what you were the most worried about. It was very likely you will have to suffer another three years with him in the same classroom.

“Well then, may the best man win!” he offered you his hand.

“Are you blind? I am a woman.” you ignored his hand and kept walking.

“Barely, where are your breasts?” he grinned.

You blushed, how did he always know where to hit?

 _‘You will never cry again because of him!’_ you reminded yourself.

You bit your lip, send him only a hard cold glare before you kept going. 

You hated Kuroo Tetsurou. The school break didn’t change it, the distance didn’t change it.

Needless to say, you didn’t speak with him for the rest of the day and even the week. You were well trained in Kuroo’s antics. This year would be different. 

Or so you hoped, because he once more sat right behind you, you both competed over who knew the material better in class, you both joined the volleyball teams.

Did anything really change?

Kuroo Tetsurou was the course of your existence, you were sure of it. He was everywhere and it was impossible just to ignore him. He made sure of it. Did that sound as if you were on a repeat? It sure felt like it.

Sure, he stopped with the childish acts like throwing papers on your back or pulling your hair. The game changed, you grew up – even if not by much – and it was time to up your game as well. Competitions? Yes, that was still a thing. You always tried to best each other in every aspect. Well, almost everything, you weren’t going to lower yourself to some of the gross things guys did. Although, by this age, they also learned this wouldn’t score them any points with the girls.

You used to play with the boys on the breaks, but now you preferred to sit with the girls and make fun of how stupid and immature boys were. There was always a certain level of gender competition in elementary school, but it felt more chaotic as if it didn’t matter much. Now though? The class split in two and the tension was real. Somehow, you and Kuroo became the center of the class division, as if all eyes were on the two of you. Who will best the other? Who will prove once and for all that one or the other was better?

It wasn’t limited to the two of you and the teachers in your class used this competition to make the others work harder. If everyone is at each other throats, let’s make the best of it. Once more, your class was considered the top class of your year. By the end of the summer break, some students switched classes while others were moved to yours. That shuffle brought new challenges. This was also the wake-up call for you, that reminded you why you hated Kuroo so much.

“Don’t you think Kuroo is kind of… you know, cute?” Kaori asked.

The sudden question made you choke on your rice ball and you were handed a bottled of water to wash everything down.

You could have sworn you heard someone laugh in the distance and you didn’t want to think if you recognized the laugh or not. Now that his voice changed, Kuroo often took you by surprise because you sometimes just didn’t recognize his voice.

“I think he is about as cute as a mature hyaena.” you finally said after you managed to get your breathing under control.

“You are saying that because the two of you never get along, but have you ever thought about it?” Yuuki – a new girl who joined your class – asked.

“Thought about what? You can’t seriously say there is anything attractive in his personality? He is mocking, provocative, has an annoying laugh, he makes faces all the time and always looks disheveled. He likes to show off and looks down at other and-”

“But this is how you see it. Besides, this is how he behaves around you.” Yuuki pointed out.

For a moment, you tried to remember if you ever saw him behave differently.

“I mean, he offered to help me yesterday when I was cleaning the classroom and my partner ditched on me.” She added, taking a bite of her rice ball.

“Now that you mention it, he helped me carrying the boxes the teacher asked me to bring to class,” Kaori added.

“He is smart, he is the best volleyball player we have and he is just a first year, and you know, you can’t deny the whole bedhead and the bad boy looks suits him.” Mei joined in.

You said nothing.

“Also, I heard he has some fangirls. I saw Chika the other day with Kuroo. I am pretty sure she confessed him, though the way she was blushing and quickly walking away, I think he rejected her.” Kaori added.

You froze at the words, Kuroo rejected Chika? She was like, the prettiest girl in your year. All the boys were talking about her and how… developed she was. You glanced down at your nonexistent breasts. You were always confident in your body as a child, but lately, seeing all the other girls start growing in places you didn’t, you couldn’t deny you became self-conscious. 

You played with a loose strand of your hair, twisting it around your finger. After it grew up again, it became much softer and easier to tame. It was probably the thing you loved the most in your appearance. Because everything else in you – aside from getting a bit taller and Kuroo beat you in this as well – remained the same as it was in elementary. You never let it bother you until now.

“Yeah, well, didn’t Chika confess about a bunch of other guys as well? I think she is just about to run out of guys, which only means Kuroo was one of the last on her list!” Mei announced and you began laughing.

“I mean, really, who will want to be with Kuroo?” Mei asked.

“I think [name] and Kuroo will make a cute couple,” Yuuki replied happily.

She was new, so you could forgive her for assuming you and Kuroo could ever be a thing.

“I mean, really when you think about it, you two will look cute together. Like one of those power couples! You are the best in everything and both play volleyball, can you imagine it?” She asked Kaori and Mei for help.

“Now that you say this, I can actually see the two of you together.” Kaori mused.

“Pff, please, as if Kuroo and I? Are you kidding me?” “Pff, please, as if [anem] and I? Are you kidding me?”

You froze and looked over at the boy you were just discussing stand right next to you and holding a volleyball ball.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, trying to ignore the fact you were blushing.

“Getting the ball since the four of you are too busy daydreaming about me to throw it back,” he smirked and you wanted to slap it off his face. 

_‘I bet slapping him would feel as good as spiking a ball.’_ you could daydream about that all day long.

“Oi, [[l.name](http://l.name/)]-chan, want to join us? We are missing a player and you are an amazing setter!” Toyama – who was on the volleyball team – asked.

“Sorry, Toyama-Kun, but I prefer not to play during the breaks!” you waved at him with a smile, giving him an apologetic look.

“What?” you looked at Kuroo, who was scowling at you.

“Since when you don’t play on breaks?” he asked, his voice sounded annoyed as he tried to avoid eye contact.

“Since I realized I become sweaty and sticky and stink! I might be playing with boys, but I don’t like smelling like you. Also, open the window when you get back to class, I hate dealing with your smell for four hours.” you let out a sigh and Kuroo just went back to the boys when they called him. You missed the look he was giving you, or even the fact he paused to smell himself a moment later.

“[name]?” Kaori asked.

“What?” you turned your attention to her.

“How come you are so friendly with Toyama-senpai?” Yuuki asked gaping, “I mean, he is so popular, and I am pretty sure that was a compliment? He looked like he hoped you would join!”

“The girls and boys teams play against each other often and we also sometimes have practiced together when one of the coaches is missing. We stayed late a few times since he is working on his spikes a lot lately and he likes the way I set the ball.” you explained as if it was nothing.

“Are you sure this is all because I could have sworn…”

“Yuuki, don’t makeup things that aren’t really there. You can always come and watch.” you dismissed her, quickly finished your lunch.

You were already in class when Kuroo walked in. You noticed his hair was slightly wet and you were about to ask him what he was doing when he opened up a window and sat at his desk. He rested his head on his arms and didn’t look at you. He still had a scowl on his face. 

“What are you doing? You will catch a cold like that.” you asked, though you sat straight and didn’t look at him. You weren’t sure if you ever saw Kuroo upset, but this was probably how he looked like when he was.

“You said I stank and wanted me to open a window,” he reminded you.

“You don’t have to get a cold for the sake of my nose,” you were blushing.

“Too late princess, can’t take back the things you say, so enjoy the breeze, I hope it will carry my stink to your nose, so you always think about me.” there is a slight bitterness in his voice mixed with his usually mocking tone. You didn’t look back though, you just huffed and crossed your arms, ignoring him as you always did when the class began.

Why did you feel like your stomach made a little leap? 

Why did you feel guilty as if you said something bad to him?

It was just your luck that the practice that day was a game with the boys’ volleyball team. Usually, you didn’t mind it, but you kept getting this odd vibe from Kuroo. It shouldn’t affect your play, but you were the main setter in your team and you found yourself standing close to him often. It felt as if he was watching you all the time. Which usually wasn’t so odd because he is **supposed** to watch you and your team. Still, you couldn’t shake off the feeling that today was different.

His play was also off, but you had a feeling that you understood why. You said nothing in hopes someone else ould point it out because you didn’t want his teasing about how you were paying close attention to him. The truth was, you were always paying close attention when he played. There was something in the way he moved and played that was just captivating. Although you kept reminding yourself, it was just the game and not Kuroo himself.

At least you kept believing this.

You chewed a bit on your lip and you could have sworn that Kuroo was looking. Was he searching for weakness? Did he think you would give away your next move? You were both at the net, your team received the ball, you prepared to toss it, but the last moment you dumped it right past Kuroo’s hands.

“Lame! You are so tall and I still get past you so easily~” you smiled.

You could see the twitch of annoyance in his eye. He prided himself for his block and yet recently, he couldn’t stop you, although he always had his eyes on you. 

“Don’t give me that look, it’s not my fault you didn’t realize it yet!” you poked your tongue at him and waited for your team to serve.

You were on your way home when you felt him behind you.

“Don’t sneak on me,” you stated and heard him let out an annoyed sigh.

“You are so annoying sometimes,” he muttered, catching up to walk beside you.

“Well, you are annoying all the time, so I guess I am better than you.” you smiled as you skipped ahead, jumping on the lines of the sidewalk.

“What did you mean earlier?” he suddenly asked after a moment of silence and just watching you.

“Hummm?” you almost lost your balance and Kuroo – as usual – caught your hand and pulled you to stand straight.

You blushed at the contact and tried to pull your hand away, but he kept holding your fingers.

“What you said during the game, about me not realizing it?” he reminded you.

“Oh, did you realize how much you grew up lately?” you asked, trying your hardest not to meet his eyes or to blush. You kept telling yourself that it was hot because the sun was setting.

“Yea, I know that, so what?” you chuckled at his reply.

“I think you don’t, you talk about it all the time, you tease me and everyone about how short we are compared to you, but when you can put that height to use, you don’t” you explained, “you keep playing like you did when you were my height, but you are so much taller now. It makes you look clumsy and you come off as if you are holding back.” you replied, taking your hand away from his and running back home.

Kuroo just stood there for a moment, his eyes following you, when did you become so pretty?

∘☆∘

It was the second year in junior high when the stress began to pick up and you really started to feel it. You weren’t sure which high school you wanted to go to, but you were sure you wanted to go to a good one. It meant you had to really do well in your studies. This was never a problem, you were always focused in class and lately, if you happened to space out a bit, Kuroo would somehow get you back on track again. Usually, he tugged on your ponytail, which was irritating. 

You were also working your ass off during volleyball practices. Often staying after practice to work a little longer on the places you were not as good. It didn’t help that your body decided now, of all times, to start catching up to everyone else finally. You were feeling it and you were slightly clumsier than usual. While you were nowhere as tall as Kuroo – who just kept growing up at an impossible pace – you suddenly realized how he felt when his mind was still catching up with his body.

If there was one thing that you were proud of, it that you never sustained any injury during practices and games. You were always careful and your plays were well calculated, perfect, so why did this have to happen right now?

You were leaning against the wall of the gym, well past the time everyone left, feeling as if you might end up sleeping there at this rate. You were practicing your serves, ignoring the slight ache in your knee, you started feeling it during the practice while working on your spikes but ignored it. Only when you stopped a few minutes ago to rest, you came to understand you screwed up and there wasn’t anyone there to help you out.

You leaned your head against the wall and closed your eyes for a few moments. You knew that you should stretch and not allow your body to just cool down like that. At the moment, though, you didn’t care, you needed a moment to collect yourself. You pulled your healthy leg towards your body and rested your forehead against your knee. Letting out a loud, angry curse and kicking the ball that was close to your injured leg, which only caused worse pain to shoot through your leg.

“[name]?” 

This was just your luck!

“Leave me alone Kuroo.” you quickly replied, not thinking clearly.

“Why are you still here? Are you ok?” his voice was getting closer and you refused to look to where he stood. You felt his eyes on you, as observant as ever.

“Leave me alone Kuroo,” you warned once more, your voice cracking.

“Will you stop being so damn stupid? I know you dislike me, but ask for help when you need it!” his voice boomed, and you felt the tears running down your cheeks.

You heard him sit beside you, “your knee looks swollen, I can help, I think I know what’s the problem if it's anything like what happened to me last year.” he began, you felt his hand on your head as he messed your hair, “can I try help?” he asked carefully.

There was a moment of silence and you just ended up nodding in agreement.

“Good, just don’t kick me or anything, but I need to massage your whole leg.

“Okay…” you muttered, turning your head away, you didn’t want to look at him.

Kuroo carefully placed his hands on your stretched leg, and he began by sliding his hands up and down your leg and you hissed every time he touched your knee.

“It’s called jumper’s knee, you overworked yourself, I bet you didn’t realize how much it hurt until you stopped for a rest,” he explained in an attempt to distract you. His hands felt warm against your skin, “I had it last year when I overworked myself, I was so frustrated I didn’t play as well as I wanted, the coach noticed I tried to hide the pain I felt. Showed me what to do and how to avoid it again. Forced me to take a break for a couple of days.” he kept talking while focusing the massage around your knee.

You just listened, turning your head to look at him or more like staring, you really started to feel tired. He seemed so focused and serious as he massaged your whole leg again. You suddenly remembered what Yuuki told you last year, how Kuroo was different around you, but he was actually not as bad as you pictured him. 

“I guess Yuuki was right,” you muttered, forgetting he could hear you.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” he asked, meeting your gaze.

“Nothing,” you blushed, “just a random thought about something.”

“Whatever, just admit it that you are secretly in love with me,” he smirked, his face was suddenly so close to yours.

“Don’t get so full of yourself!” you pushed him away lightly and he pretended to fall but regained his balance.

“Nah, I am just aware enough to know you are always sending me these looks of passionate love!” he moved closer, grinning, his face awfully close to yours.

“Delusional! You confuse love with hate,” you moved closer as well, a small frown on your face.

“There is a thin line, you know that?” he grinned, “feeling better?” he asked, squeezing your thigh a little to remind you what he was doing there.

“Mmm, yea, it feels better, still hurts a little.” you dropped your eyes to your knee, your skin was a bit reddish from how Kuroo’s rubbing, “Kuroo-” your eyes grew wider, barely registering what had just happened.

Kuroo Tetsurou kissed you! 

You pushed him away, covering your mouth, feeling the blush spreading on your face.

“I really hate you, baka!” you yelled at him.

“I know,” he was smiling anyway.

“This was my first kiss!!!” you blushed even darker.

“I know, that’s what makes it better, something of yours that forever belongs to me, princess,” he smirked.

“Baka!” you turned away, feeling your heart racing. 

Why was your heart racing like that?

“Hey, sorry, just don’t start crying on me.” he touched your shoulder.

Why didn’t you really mind? Maybe because now you didn’t have to overthink about who will be the first?

“As if I will ever cry over you!” you turned back to him, pushing him away and tried to stand up.

“Hey, hey… don’t get up like this.” he quickly stood up and caught you when you realized your knee still hurt when you put pressure on it, “wait a moment.” he quickly gathered the balls in the crate and put the net away. Grabbed your bag and brought it over to you.

“Here, your body is probably already chilled.” he threw your jacket over your head, you didn’t complain and put it on, “where are your pants?” he asked.

“In the bag, you don’t need to dig,” you replied. 

Kuroo took them out and helped you to get dressed. Once you were done, he put your bag on his shoulder and bent down in front of you, while his back was facing you.

“What are you doing?” you asked, feeling your stomach leap.

“Don’t overthink it stupid, just get on. I will get you home. You can get back to hating me tomorrow.” he replied, “the longer you take, the longer you have to spend time with me.” he added and you quickly got on his back.

He easily hoised you high enough on his back with a small buck and you yelped and wrapped your arms around his neck rightly.

“Hey, don’t kill me!” he muttered.

“Sorry.” you were so happy he didn’t see your face as he began walking out of the gym.

You helped Kuroo turn off the lights and locked the door and he headed towards your houses with a bit of awkward silence between the two of you.

“Hey, [name]?” Kuroo broke the silence after a couple of minutes.

“Mmm?”

“When did you grow breasts?” you stared at his head for a moment, tightening your grip around his neck.

“I will just kill you, baka!” you hissed.

“Hey! I was joking, if you kill me now you will be stuck here!” he tried to pull your arms away from his neck, “you are stronger than you look…” he finally said once you loosen your hold.

“Sorry about that, kiss,” he muttered under his breath.

“Baka, it makes it worse if you feel sorry for it,” you rested your chin on his shoulder.

“Then I am not sorry.” he chuckled and you hit him on the head.

The silence settled once more, but you didn’t mind it at all.

Maybe Kuroo wasn’t so bad after all.

∘☆∘

If the second year was challenging, the pressure was real in the third. You suddenly realized how hard high school would be because it prepared you for university. You wanted to get into a good class, so earlier you start the better. At the very same time, you had to balance your duties as the new captain of your volleyball team.

It wasn’t a surprise when you got the position, neither was it a surprise that Kuroo once more was the captain of his own team. Though the two of you were still competitive towards one another, some of the usual tension between you disappeared after he helped you when you were injured. However, he was irritating about it as well, because he made sure to tell your mother what happened and your mother called your coach.

Overall, it turned out he was right, although you held some grudge about it. You eventually let it go when Kuroo stayed with you to help you practice. Though his excuse was that he wanted the extra work, you often saw his eyes shift to your knee. You kept telling him you were fine, while he said he didn’t care, you somehow ended up arguing over who was overworking themselves more. It often ended up with you aiming a serve to the back of his head, while he accused you of trying to kill the competition. You reminded him that you and him never really faced each other on the court, to which he said it was too bad because he would easily wipe the floor with you.

You ended up exhausting each other with arguments and went home while ignoring one another. Still, there was always something there. Lately, you felt it more often, in the way you looked at each other before you went into your houses. Something lingering and you didn’t like how it made you feel.

Something fell on your desk, a note.

_Pay attention, baka._

You frowned and threw the note back at Kuroo without replying. You were more tired than usual and today you were spacing out. Yesterday the girls’ team had a game and you won, but it was one of the most difficult you had so far, which wasn’t surprising since you were so close to the end of the tournament. Kuroo kicked your chair and you jolted back to attention, feeling the teacher glare at you and continue writing on the board.

You just kept nodding off throughout the whole day, almost snapping at Kuroo whenever he kicked your chair or threw something at you to make sure you won’t fall off your chair. On the one hand, you were grateful for him. On the other, he was irritating you while doing so and teasing you throughout the breaks. You wondered how come he was so energetic when he too had a game yesterday. You didn’t ask, though.

“What were you doing last night? Did you even sleep at all?” he asked when you rested your head on the table, happy it was the end of the day.

“Not really, I remembered we needed to hand in the essay in English,” you whined, glancing at the numbers on your phone that indicated the hour. Half an hour to practice.

“You really are stupid,” he let out a sigh, leaning against the table across you after snatching your phone.

“Hey, what are you doing?” you tried to get it back.

“Shut up, setting you an alarm, I have no intention to sit here and babysit your ass.” he stated, resting your phone out of your reach, “just sleep for a bit, your team needs their captain working.”

You closed your eyes and heard Kuroo walk away and closed the classroom door behind him. You smiled a little before allowing yourself to catch a quick nap.

That nap was precisely what you needed to recharge and with a few minutes to spare. You thought you would go and thank Kuroo for making you sleep. You were just at the entrance to the gym when you heard some talking and your name.

“...I mean, she is pretty and I was wondering how to approach her.” you recognized it as one of the third years in the team. You weren’t sure why, but you stopped and listened to their conversation.

“[name]? I wouldn’t. She isn’t worth the time. She won’t even give you the time if I am honest.” it was Kuroo’s voice and you felt yourself frowning.

“Why, do you like her or something?” the other guy sounded annoyed.

“Like her? Who would like [name]? Have you ever looked at her? Sure she got some figure over the last year, but she isn’t, you know… girly. Who would date someone like her when there are so many pretty girls.” he teased.

You weren’t sure why but it hurt, it hurt so fucking much. Did he really think you weren’t worth it? Sure, you didn’t have the same curvy body like the other girls – although your body changed a lot over the past year – you didn’t think you were that bad. Your curves weren’t as soft looking as the girls who aren't athletes but to go and say you weren’t worth the time. If he didn’t like you, he could have just said so. He didn’t have to go and insult you!

That old feeling of anger bubbled up inside you as you fought back the tears.

You will not cry. You will not cry over Kuroo Tetsurou.

You will not cry over a double-faced man like him.

Why did he kiss you if he thought all these things about you?

You hated Kuroo Tetsurou!

You decided you will never waste any more of your time on him.

You were stubborn when you wanted too. You kept that promise to yourself. For whatever was left of the year, you didn’t speak to him again. You didn’t look his way if you didn’t absolutely have too. You ignored his existence. 

You graduated at the top of your class, along with Kuroo.

You won the volleyball tournament, Kuroo lost his tournament. You didn’t approach to comfort him as you did the rest of his team. Kuroo Tetsurou was no longer worth your time.

Maybe it was cold-hearted of you, but you felt like he hurt you even worse, he took something valuable from you and then walked all over it.

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

You woke up with a startle and looked at the alarm clock on your bed stand, trying to focus your blurry vision long enough to read the numbers.

“Shit! Why didn’t anyone wake me up?!” you almost screamed as you began to throw things around, you were about to change your clothes when you realized you still smelled of sweat, sex and Kuroo. 

The thought of him made you pause, did you want to go to school today? Maybe you should skip? You weren’t sure if you were ready to face him after you left him like that yesterday. You felt as if you wanted the ground to open up and just swallow you. The year was nowhere to be over. You still have months before you graduate. What would you do now? You didn’t have volleyball anymore and you weren’t sure what you wanted to do now. Coach Nekomata offered you to work with the boys’ team as a manager. How could you do that now after you slept with the captain? 

“I am such a mess…” you muttered to yourself but decided to get a quick shower and head to school anyway. You never stopped to think about anything else. You were going to be late anyway, and if you planned to show up at all, you might as well be presentable.

You got to school right before the second period, which was pretty impressive considering you were really late. You politely apologize to your teacher and promise it will not happen again. Luckily, you didn’t get into trouble. He only asked you if you felt alright since you were a bit pale and flushed. You dismissed his worries and said you were just in a hurry and didn’t sleep until late.

You weren't ready to face Kuroo, but he sat right behind you as he always used to do, for a change you weren’t the only one ignoring him. You didn’t feel his usual gaze on you either. Only when you entered the classroom, your eyes met for a second.

You kept fanning yourself throughout the lesson, your attention declining the longer it went, a couple of times you caught yourself nodding off but quickly recovered. It felt odd without the constant attention you had on you from Kuroo. You never realized how much he helped you around. Was it all intentional? Or was it purely to keep the competition going?

By the time the bell rang, you practically shot out of your chair and hurried to get out of class, feeling as if you were suffocating. You weren’t in the mood to be around anyone, so you decided to head to the roof.

“[name], wait a moment.” his voice again. You didn’t want to wait. You didn’t want to talk.

You knew, though, that he wouldn’t leave you be, so you stopped and turned towards him. It was sudden. Dizziness, disorientation and you were falling. 

“[name]!” Kuroo’s voice was so distant, you heard him curse and everything went black.

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

You got accepted to several high schools, but after a while of debating, you chose to go to Nekoma because out of all of the possible options, they were the only ones whose girls’ volleyball team was actually active and wasn’t sidelined for the boys.

You walked into the nearly empty classroom and as always chose to sit next to a window towards the back of the class. It was still early, so you just took out your phone and went through some notifications. You were answering your friends' texts, who complained about not being in the same school this year. You chuckled, it was a bit sad that at this stage you were already taking different paths.

“Oh, hi there, I thought there wouldn’t be anyone at this hour.” a guy walked in, making his way towards where you sat. He dropped his bag on the desk in front of you. You had a feeling you recognized him.

“Yaku Morisuke,” he offered you a smile and you smiled back.

“[[l.name](http://l.name/)] [name], I thought I recognized you!” you said happily.

“Should I recognize you?” he asked, giving you a bit of a guilty smile.

“No, no, you shouldn’t. I saw your game last year. Your school’s volleyball team wrecked our boys.” you replied, though showed no problem with that, “you were their awesome libero, I was amazed by your saves.” your smile was so broad he couldn’t help but smile back and rub the back of his neck.

“Shouldn’t you hold a grudge or something?” he asked, though you could see he was happy you weren’t.

The door opened once more and you both looked towards the newcomer.

“You gotta be kidding with me!” you almost yelled when your eyes met with Kuroo’s narrow hazel ones. You quickly looked away towards Yaku, who seemed to be focused on Kuroo and you realized how heavy the tension in the room was. Three people who disliked at least one of the members in the room.

“Oi, [name], why are you associating with the enemy?” Kuroo asked, walking to sit right behind you. You, on the other hand, ignored him and looked over at Yaku and got his attention.

“As I was going to say, I see no point in holding a grudge when we are now in the same school. Also, I got to see you wipe this guy’s ass. Nope, no grudge here.” you smiled at him and felt the glares on your back from Kuroo.

“So, you like volleyball?” Yaku gave Kuroo one last look, looking all pleased with himself.

“Yes, I am playing as well and planning on joining this year as well,” you replied happily.

The two of you kept chatting about volleyball and other random things. While Yaku and Kuroo kept sending each other death glares. You insisted on ignoring Kuroo for as long as you could. 

The class filled in while you and Yaku got to know each other and before you knew it the teacher was already in and called the classroom to settle down. You felt a familiar kick in your chair, but you pretended that nothing happened. You could see Yaku glancing back towards you and you smiled at him, mentioning him to focus on what was going on at the front of the class. A note fell on your desk and you felt the holes Kuroo was drilling at the back of your neck, which made you feel uncomfortable and he knew it. You eyed the note on your desk and just brushed it off without reading it at all.

“What is your problem!” Kuroo was at your desk the moment the lunch break started and the teacher was out of the room.

“I have no problems, but you apparently have some temper issues.” you replied calmly. You were shaking your head towards Yaku, who seemed as if he was going to intervene. 

“I have no issues, but you are fucking driving me crazy, one moment you are all nice and the next you act as if I don’t exist. Stop fucking playing games and tell me what the fuck did I do wrong this time.” he hissed angrily, this time a bit more quietly so fewer people would be able to listen.

“See, that’s the problem, you don’t even know. I am not the one who is playing games. I was the same from the moment we met. You, on the other hand, you are the one who kept playing games. One moment you are all nice and the next, I **wake up** and find you talking shit about me behind my back. So who is inconsistent?” you turned your attention elsewhere, Kuroo stared at you for a moment, as if recalling something. “Now, if you can please walk away and stop causing a scene, I will appreciate it.” 

He almost growled as he walked away, now with the knowledge of what set you off, you didn’t care how he felt though. You just took out your lunch and began eating silently, shaking your head when Yaku gave you a look that asked if you wanted to talk about it. At least the libero turned out to be a good guy.

“So, what’s the deal with you and Kuroo?” Yaku asked a few weeks after the year started. Feeling that it was about the time to bring it up.

“Hum? Kuroo and I?” you asked, balancing yourself on a rail that you walked on while the two of you randomly walked around the school grounds during the break. You could tell Yaku was watching you closely. You came to realize he was a bit of a motherly kind of guy, something you really liked about him.

“Yea, I mean, I hated him at the beginning and all, but he is kind of cool when you get to know him.” Yaku rubbed the back of his neck, trying to approach the subject carefully.

“Yea, he is a great guy.” you agreed, which took the libero by surprise.

“Wait, I thought you hated him?” he asked.

“I do, but I won’t go and try to turn someone against him. I realized it long ago that Kuroo isn’t a bad guy, it is just the two of us that don’t seem to mix well together.” you jumped off the rail and landed perfectly on your legs, “we go back to elementary school, the closest we ever were was being rivals, whenever we were in danger of becoming actual friends… well, it just never happened.” you explained.

“You don’t need to worry about your friendship with me. I am perfectly fine with the two of you becoming friends. In fact, you should if you want to lead Nekoma to dominate nationals one day. I will just make sure to guilt trip you to help me with receives whenever I want.” you poked your tongue out at him.

“We have a deal then, all you have to do is ask and you know that.” he laughed at your childish behavior.

“Awww… but it’s not fun when you just give in!” you complained.

∘☆∘

“Oi, [name], take a break!” Kuroo’s voice broke the tension that was in the court, focusing the attention on you.

It was your second year in Nekoma. You kept as much distance from Kuroo – emotionally at least – as possible. Unless the two of you were forced to work together, the two of you tried to keep as much distance as possible between the two of you. This is why when he yelled across the gym for you to take a break, everyone heard it, which pissed you off.

“Focus on yourself,” you hissed back, but it was loud enough for him to hear, wiping the sweat off your forehead as you glared at him.

You joined the boys’ team after practice to work on your receives with Yaku, who was helping you. You also helped him practice, because apparently, you were one of the best spikers around. Both of the Nekoma’s teams were mainly defensive, but your playstyle was always flexible and lately, you focused on your powerful serves and spikes. You were flexible enough to play other positions when needed. Setter included, but you weren't playing it as often as you used to. Yaku helped you to improve your defensive skills.

Kuroo was suddenly walking your way, he grabbed your arm and dragged you outside, while you protested. The team was eyeing the two of you but didn’t dare to do anything to interrupt. It was already clear to never get between the fights the two of you frequently had and never take sides unless they wanted to be dragged into whatever odd relationship you shared.

“Tell me your knee doesn’t hurt.” Kuroo practically slammed you against the wall and caged you against it. He looked as if he was going to strangle you for a moment.

You bit your lip and looked away. It was hurting again, it started bothering you for a while, but you didn’t want to take a break.

“Did you even see anyone about it?” he asked more softly.

“I am wearing a brace, ok? I am clear to play and coach Nekomata knows about it!” you snapped at him.

“Look, I get it, you hate me and we can’t be friends. It doesn’t mean I can’t care enough for a fellow classmate and athlete. You have pains, you get a break and make sure you can keep going later. Don’t fucking tear your body apart.” his face was so close and for a moment, it looked as if he was going to kiss you.

Suddenly, he was kneeling before you and took off your brace. He was inspecting your knee. His touch made you shiver and you clenched your fist. He isn’t supported to make you feel this way. You groaned as he massaged your leg the way he did a few years back. You forced yourself to stop thinking about what he was doing for you. 

Gradually, you relaxed to his touch and closed your eyes, supporting most of your weight on your good leg to relax the muscles for Kuroo to massage your injured one better. You tensed when you felt him kiss your thigh out of the blue, looking down at him. His gaze was directed towards you as he rose to tower over you once more. Before you could even register what he was doing, his lips crushed over yours in a forceful kiss, his tongue pushing against your lips, he ground against you and you felt something hard rub against you.

You pushed him away and before he could stop you, your hand made contact with his cheek with such force it got his head turned. You were blushing darkly, panting and holding back so many emotions. How dared he to play with you like that? You were so angry you could barely say a word.

Instead, you fixed your brace back in place and stormed back to the gym. Ignoring all questions that were thrown your way. You grabbed your things and stormed out, going home. There was no way you could stay around anymore. Not when what you wanted to do right now is to have your hands around Kuroo’s neck and watch the life leave his eyes.

The question of whether someone should or shouldn't go after you was answered when Kuroo returned a few minutes later, a red hand print still visible on his cheek. He was pissed off and no one dared to ask what happened.

“KUROO!!!” the roar of your voice echoed through the halls of the school the next day. Kuroo was walking with Yaku when you located him. You had taken both by surprise with the force you slammed the tall middle blocker against the wall. Your tiny fists were holding his collar, as you glared up at him. If Yaku weren’t worried about the death glare you were sending Kuroo or the murderous aura you were giving off, he would have thought it was amusing and adorable. 

“Hey, [name], whatever it is-” he was cut off by one look from you and backed at Kuroo.

“You fucking got me benched! I told you coach Nekomata knew about it, but you fucking had to go and talk to him! It made me look bad. He fucking benched me for the next game! You made me sound unreliable. I was going to talk to him about it. Stop meddling with my life!” you stormed away, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

You were approached by Nekomata this morning the moment you walked through the school gate. He was angry with you for not telling him, but you did. You always told him when you felt pains. Yesterday was a slip. You were just too much into the practice. You were going to see someone today and talk to the coach before practice. Kuroo just got to him before you and that made you look as if you were trying to hide the injury to keep overworking yourself.

“I think you should watch your back now,” Yaku said, feeling the tension in Kuroo’s body loosen a little.

“I think I screw this up even more,” Kuroo slid down the wall.

“I think you had good intentions, but you were too eager to get back on her.” Yaku sat next to his friend.

“I think you are right,” Kuroo replied.

“What injury? Since you won’t be able to even be close to [name] any time soon without her attempting murder. I will just keep an eye on her.” he offered.

“Jumper’s knee. It started in the second year of middle school. I found her alone in the gym when it first happened. I just knew about it since I had a short period of it myself. I know how to pace myself and pay attention to my body. [name] tends to get so deep into something she doesn’t notice her body isn’t keeping up. Just watch her legs. You can see her balance is getting off when the pain starts.” he explained.

“So, you like her.” Yaku teased.

“Shut up.”

Yaku was right, though. Kuroo wasn’t able to get anywhere near you for the rest of the year. It was as if a wall appeared between the two of you. One that anyone around you could feel. There were no turning things around anymore.

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

You groaned when you opened your eyes, covering them with your arm as you came to realize you were lying in a bed. Every bit of your body hurt and you suddenly felt a wave of nausea. You looked around, saw a basket to your left and grabbed it, but nothing came as you just sat and panted. You felt a hand on your back and it relaxed you.

“Easy, just breath,” it was Kuroo, of – fucking – course. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked after a few moments, you laid back in the bed, trying to calm down your body. You still felt sore from last night. It felt like your knee was on fire. It felt like your whole body was on fire.

“I brought you here, I wanted to see if you were ok earlier, you weren’t supposed to come today,” he added as if he knew your plans.

“Why? Just because we had sex, doesn’t mean I should skip days, don’t think so highly of yourself.” you shot at him without thinking. It was so much easier to fight him then think about everything else.

“Figured you would say something like that, whenever you are hurt, you choose to try and pick up a fight or hurt me back,” he said calmly, but you could detect the annoyance and sadness in his voice. You felt as if you were suffocating again.

“I saw your brother this morning, he asked me to inform your teacher you were sick, he said you had a fever yesterday after you came home. He said you were still sleeping when he left.” Kuroo explained.

“Oh… sorry.” you felt pathetic and bitter. You might as well hate yourself.

“I was just going to see if you were fine because you seemed pale when you came in and you fell asleep in class a couple of times,” he informed you.

“God, I feel so stupid.” you closed your eyes and rested your arm over your face. You felt the blanket that was on your body shift and covered you up.

“I won’t argue with that, you were always stupid, as if the years just made you worse.” you could hear the gentle teasing in his voice.

“Why are you here?” you asked after a few moments.

“Your father said he would come to pick you up, but it will take a while, and I figured you might want a company before you drown yourself in self-pity.” you laughed at that.

You stayed silent for the next few minutes.

“How are you feeling?” the question was so general and you weren’t sure what to reply to that.

“Like these are the worst few days in my whole fucking life, like I can’t fall lower than this, as if I completely screwed up and messed everything.”

“You think too highly of yourself.” he chuckled and you joined in.

“I feel like I am burning and at the same time, I feel cold.” you shivered and heard him let out a sigh.

“Move over.” he encouraged you to move. Maybe it was because you were already tired, you did as he asked. There was no more fight left in you.

You watched as Kuroo kicked off his shoes and climbed to the bed, it was too small for two people, and he guided you to lay on top of him. Settling your head on his chest, he covered you both and got comfortable as he leaned against the wall behind him.

“Warm now?” he asked, settling his arm around your waist.

“Yea, thanks.” you muttered, “don’t blame me if you get sick, though,” you added.

You went back to silence. There were things you needed to tell him. There were things you needed to talk about. You both knew it. You both felt it. Neither of you was someone who could ignore it.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your first time?” he asked out of the blue.

“Did it really matter? I didn’t need it romantic or something and… you weren’t rough with me either, I never expected it to be as it was.” you were blushing at that. No, he made it perfect anyway, he made sure to make you feel good. Even without knowing, he treated you like something precious. You never expected this. You never expected all the things he made you feel, all the feelings you felt from him. You never expected all the things he spoke. You were overwhelmed and you ran.

“It still shouldn't have been like that, you deserved something so much better, better timing and someone you actually love.” he stroked your hair and it calmed you down. You could hear the soft and steady beat of his heart and it made you chuckle.

“Are you going soft on me?” you asked, playing with his tie.

“No, i-”

“Are you saying your feelings for me are not real?” you cut him off.

“No, I-”

“Good, so there wasn’t anyone else I would have rather this to be. You did everything right. I felt safe with you. I felt loved. You treated me right. I doubt many other guys would do it. You were there whenever I needed or didn’t need you. You were always there. You kind of make me look bad because I was totally ready to kick you when you were down.” you paused for a moment, “I think that I do have feelings for you but…”

“We are toxic to each other.” you both said it at the same time, and a bitter laugh left your mouth.

“Too much history…” you added.

“Yea, too much bad history.” he agreed.

“Let’s just survive whatever is left of this year and make it good.” you muttered.

“Sounds good. We could give being friends a shot.” he added, kissing the top of your head as if sealing some kind of promise, “maybe sometime in the future, if we ever cross paths again.” Kuroo whispered.

“Maybe sometime in the future.” you agreed with a smile and closed your eyes.

You felt lighter with that decision. It was the right decision at that moment and time. 

Whatever was left of the year was the best time of your life.

You helped the boys volleyball team as they prepared for the spring tournament and they were more than happy to have a manager. You later found out it was because they were jealous all the other clubs had pretty girls to help them out and now they had you. You never admitted, but they really brought a smile to your face whenever they behaved as if you were the best of them all. You never knew that for their captain, you were always number one.

They didn’t win the tournament, but at least they all had fun. You grew close with Kuroo and the rest of the third years and you all met for study sessions all the time. As always, you and Kuroo graduated at the top. You won no tournaments, but at least you were finally friends.

_‘Or maybe something more someday.’_

You thought when he kissed you goodbye under the sakura tree.

⋅⋆∘☆∘⋆⋅

**Three years later**

You were panting as you kept looking at your phone to make sure you still had time, cursing under your breath as you tried to move past the crowds of people, you didn’t want to miss the train and be late. You were sure you gave yourself enough time to get ready, but you were so tired from the flight and so busy picking out an outfit when you remembered it was a damn get together for crying out loud! With a bunch of volleyball dorks and whatever came out of them, not a gala. 

Boy, you were happy you decided on jeans and sneakers because running on heels would have killed your feet. You quickly stepped past an old lady and her grandchild, avoided running into a businessman and a bunch of giggly girls who were too busy trying to get a group picture. You saw the train doors were about to close and someone grabbed your hand and pulled you on a different train.

“You were always scattered in mind, but I thought you would grow out of it.” you frowned at the man before you.

“Just because you are over-analyzing everything and have everything organized in categories doesn’t mean I am scattered minded.” you shot back, allowing him to keep an arm around you as you caught your breath while the train began to move.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yea, thanks Keiji, Koutarou would be so annoying if I was late.” you let out a tired breath and he let you go.

“You would know how to deal with him, you dated him for a year. Honestly, I was surprised when you managed to keep up for so long.” he smiled.

“Yea, I got a few tips that helped me out.” you laughed.

“I think he was the most tamed and at his best when he dated you, remind me why you broke up?” he asked.

“It was nice, but it wasn’t **it,** you know… and I got to this exchange program. We had too much on our schedules. We just decided it was best to make a clean break and stay friends.” you explained.

“Have you seen him since you came back?” he asked.

“Yea, he actually picked me up from the airport and dropped me off at my parents' house. We are good, really.” you smiled when you finally figured out where Akaashi was heading with all the questions.

“Good.” another smile, someone was in a good mood.

“How about you? How are you doing? You are probably the most passive man on social media!” you complained and Akaashi rolled his eyes.

“Kuroo is coming.” always manipulating things in his favor.

“I know, Kou was practically jumping up and down when he told me.” you replied.

“He is planning to get everyone to play, I tried to get him off it.” Akaashi let out a sigh.

“Yea, try getting it out of his head, I bet Kuroo helped him organize the whole thing.” you sighed as well.

“Worse, Atsumu helped him out, so there is a reserved volleyball court. Tons of food and probably as much alcohol.” at this, you both sighed. You were doomed.

By the time the two of you arrived, Bokuto was so hyped he practically tried to tackle you. Well, more like Akaashi because someone pulled you out of the way just in time. You closed your eyes and breathed in. You could recognize this scent everywhere. As if no time passed at all.

“Hi, there, how was your flight?” he asked you and you smiled.

“Long and then I was pulled into this crazy get together.” you replied, turning around as the two of you shared a hug, it lasted longer than you expected.

“You look good,” he complimented you as Akaashi got Bokuto under control.

“Are you hitting on me? Because I am pretty sure I am as disheveled as hell, I almost got on the wrong train if it wasn’t for Akaashi.” you laughed, “but you don’t look bad yourself.” you added in the end.

Kuroo Tetsurou surely matured well, his shoulders were slightly broader than you remembered, he was still as tall as you remembered, but he looked more toned and… fuck it, Kuroo Tetsurou was fucking hot. There, you admitted it and you weren’t ashamed to stare. 

He laughed and you were sure you could die. When did he become so irresistible?

“Sounds like you, I am happy to hear you didn’t change,” he led you off towards where everyone was already gathering. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as you thought.

It got bad, really bad, but it was also good. At first, there were some awkward moments, since so many of the people who gathered were past rivals. You were surprised to find that the volleyball court was actually a good idea. While it riled everyone up, it also got everyone into a good mood and playful competition. You played a few games in groups until the food was ready and after that, some played while others just sat and watched.

At some point, you all began to drink and make stupid toasts and laughing like crazy. You stayed by Kuroo’s side all the time as if the two of you kept gravitating back to one another. You never laughed so much in your life and you blamed the alcohol because his jokes were just bad. At some point, though, you just ended up taking a random walk to chill out a little.

“Where are you staying?” he asked you after a while.

“Humm? Today or generally?” you asked, allowing him to guide you towards a bench in a nearby park.

“I guess both?” he laughed, throwing back his head, as he spread his arms over the back of the bench. You realized just how much space he took compared to you. You remembered how it felt being in his arms.

“I moved with my parents for now, until I will find an apartment I can afford, and… it’s stupid, but I didn’t think about tonight.” you laughed at the foolishness of yourself. 

“I have a place nearby, I was going to invite you to crash for the night, but maybe I will just force you to take the offer.” he let out a sigh.

“I am not a child Kuroo.” you reminded him with the most serious face you could muster.

“No, but you are a woman, in the company of a lot of men, one who is your ex and plenty who would love to have you for themselves.” he caught you chin between his thumb and index finger, making you meet his eyes, “I have no intention of letting that happen, I waited too long for you.” he whispered.

You couldn’t stop staring at him. The memory of your last kiss flashed in your mind. You remembered his touch and how he made you feel the night you shared together. After a while, this one memory became a happy one once you filtered all the negative feelings out of it. It felt as if Kuroo was looking for something and whatever it was he found it, he smiled before closing the gap between you.

It felt as if fireworks went off in your mind. His lips felt a bit rougher than yours but also soft. He didn’t bother with a sweet kiss, he was kissing you hungrily as if he was trying to devour you. His tongue forced its way into your mouth and you moaned at the feeling. 

Kuroo immediately wrapped his arm around your waist and brought you to straddle him on the bench. Bringing your two together, you could feel his erection even through two rough materials that kept the two of you apart. You wrapped your arms around him, and forced his tongue out of your mouth and into his, doing a little exploration of your own. You both moaned when you grind your hips against him.

It felt like forever before you two parted after a wrestling match you had with your tongues, pushing back and forth between your mouths. You were panting, allowing Kuroo to kiss down your neck and tilted your head to give him better access.

“Fuck, I think I was waiting for years for this.” he whispered against your neck, “I was hoping you would wear a skirt.” he bit your collarbone through your shirt. 

“Why?” you asked, eyes half-lidded while you still tried to catch your breath.

“Can you see me subtly fucking you while you wear long jeans?” he asked, smirking.

“You wear jeans as well.” you complained.

“Yea, but I can just unzip and pull out, you on the other hand…” he gripped your thigh and you moaned.

“Fuck it!” he pushed you off his lap, and took your hand and almost dragged you away.

“Where are we going?” you asked, trying to find your footing and keeping up with his long strides.

“My car,” he replied shortly.

“Your car? You have a car? Why are we going to your car?” The question made him laugh.

“Yea, I have a car, and I have every intention to fuck you in it.” he pulled you into his arms, kissed you and almost slammed you against a hard surface of what you guessed was his car. You moaned, at the rough handling, you found you loved that side of him. It made you feel hot and the heat pooled between your thighs and you couldn’t wait to get these jeans off.

You rested your hands on his side, feeling for the hem of his shirt and tried pulling it off, forcing him to stop kissing you to allow you to get it off completely. Usually, he would tease you and you would tease him, but at this moment, it felt as if something just broke—some kind of a barrier the two of you put between you. There was no longer need for it and the full force of your emotions and need for one another hit you.

Kuroo unlocked the car and opened the door, stopping only to take off your shirt and sports bra, throwing both into the car. You followed his example and threw his shirt inside as well. Your lips met together again as he made sure you won’t hit your head when he pushed you into the back seat and broke the kiss. Kicked off his shoes and pulled yours off, and while he worked on getting his jeans off, you crawled to the far side of the car to allow him some space and tried to get your jeans off. Kuroo smirked as he tugged your jeans and panties off, and crawled over your body, while somehow he managed to close the door behind him.

It was as if your mouths gravitated to one another, kissing once more, panting and moaning into each other's mouths. Your hands explored his body as if you had never seen it before. Touching everything you could and fuck, he felt nice everywhere. He was grinding his erection against you as you tried to spread your legs more to accommodate all of him better, which resulted in him rubbing against your sensitive clit.

“Fuck Kuroo, will you fuck me already?” you breathed, breaking the kiss.

“As you wish, princess.” he chuckled, though he wasn’t going for it right away, instead he was looking for something.

“Are you kidding me? I am on a pill!” you almost screamed at him, “unless you have some STD to tell me about, don’t waste time.” you were blushing as you spoke those words and Kuroo was looking at you stunned.

“Fine,” he almost rammed himself inside and both of you groaned. He waited for a moment, allowing you a second to adjust, which you were thankful for.

“Go,” you breathed, bucking your hips against him.

He kissed your neck as he began moving, helping you to wrap your legs around his waist to give himself better access. He started relatively slowly, but each thrust was so deep, and you welcomed him like he belonged there. Maybe he did. He held your waist as he picked up the pace, angling himself in such a way that each thrust would brush against your clit. As if he memorized your body, he easily located your g-spot as well. And you wondered if he **had** memorized it all this time ago.

It didn’t matter though, because all thoughts were soon gone from your mind, as he gradually reduced you into a moaning mess. It was probably due to the two of you being so pent-up for one another, but it didn’t take long for the pleasure build up and for you to reach your climax, coaxing Kuroo over the edge with you. You felt how his hot seed spilled inside you with every thrust he took, fucking you through your orgasm, prolonging it as long as he could.

“Fuck..” “Damn”

You both said and began laughing like idiots, before meeting each other’s eyes and smiling as your lips met in a gentle and loving kiss. Taking your time to say hello and welcome back to my life. And when the two of you finally pulled away, he rested his forehead in your shoulder.

“So, how do we do it?” you asked.

“I take you home. Fuck you until we both pass out. You move in and we go from there.” he replied, grinning.

“Oh, good to know, a great plan,” you rolled your eyes and smiled as well, “but I meant, how do we get ourselves from this mess?” you were a bit more accurate this time with your question.

“Good question!” he announced, and you both ended up laughing instead of trying to move, “reach behind the seat, there should be a bag with a towel and I will somehow get us untangled. Though I love my current position.” he wiggled his eyebrows at you.

“I am sure of it, but my legs feel numb like that,” you huffed.

“I love you.” he blurted out, pecking your lips and catching your lower lip between his teeth and tugged on it playfully. You chuckle, feeling the familiar butterflies in your stomach come to life.

“You could have made it more romantic,” you smiled, “I love you, Tetsu.” you kissed him shortly. You exchanged a couple more of those soft and playful kisses before you complained that you really couldn’t feel your legs.

He laughed as you searched for the bag he was talking about. Eventually, you figured a way to separate yourselves without getting the car seat dirty and without an injury to either of you. Getting dressed was a challenge. But you managed to do it while banging your head only twice. It was a bit more difficult for Kuroo, but once you wiggled out, he had more space to move.

Kuroo took you back to his apartment and neither of you answered your phones for the next few days. Enjoying each other’s company without anyone’s disturbance. 

For a change, the two of you made the right decision when you decided to take the distance from one another back in High school. You needed to take a break from each other, to experience life without one another in it. What came after you met again lasted for the rest of your lives and you didn’t need to take any breaks this time around.


End file.
